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Letter Bk. III
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as that the Doctor might not be detained any longer at Phil"
otherwise perhaps Mr Howell might keep him there untill he
shall hear again from Your Excellency or from Mr Kilby.
I shall endeavour to get the Voluntiers that I expect to march
with me to Fort Cumberland hither the Ist of Septr or on any
other Day that you may think fit to appoint but notwith-
standing the Report the Officer has made me & the hopes he
has given me that the men will make no Difficulty of marching
I am afraid many of them will be dissuaded or discouraged
by the members of our Assembly or their Instruments who
are I understand extremely busy below & leave no Stone
unturned that may hinder any men from marching to serve on
the Frontiers under my Command. The Resolves they made
just at the Conclusion of our last Session & that were pub-
lished by Order of the House in one of the Maryland Gazettes
which you asked after at Carlyle was a Warning to me to
expect opposition but notwithstanding the Experience I have
had I could not conceive that when the Safety of the Province
was so much at Stake as it is at present they would be so very
anxious as they appear to put it out of my Power to provide
in any Degree for the Security of the Inhabitants, however
I hope I shall yet be able to perform as much as I have ever
promised, I mean if You can leave Rays Town within this
Fortnight & can proceed to Fort Du Quesne before the
Beginning of Octr when I must necessarily meet the Assembly
I hope to be able to get men enough to garrison not only this
Place but Fort Cumberland also & you may be assured that I
shall embrace every Opportunity of convincing you that I
most sincerely wish you Success in Your Expedition &c.
[Sharpe to Pitt]
Fort Frederick the 2yth of August 1758.
Sir
Not knowing whether General Forbes might at this time
have an Opportunity of sending Letters to England or indeed
whether he is able to write & having just received Advice of
a Vessel's being about to sail from this Province I do myself
the honour to inform you that about 3000 of the men whereof
he has the Command & Half the Train of Artillery are
advanced to a River called the Laurel hannon which accord-
ing to the best Account I can get is 70 miles beyond Ray's
Town the Place of general Rendezvous) & about 35 miles to
the Eastward of Fort Du Quesne, the last of those 3000 men
marched from Rays Town the 23d Inst & there still remains
at that place about 1800. The Army in general is very
healthy the Pensilvaa New Levies & those that came from
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